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caseynathan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This review contains spoilers, but hoenstly, it’s better than reading this book.
I love POTO, I really do. And typically I love most adaptations of the work. But this…this was rough. Not only does Rune remind me of every self-insert Fanfiction protagonist ever, but she is dreadfully boring. Also, “Thorn”, the son that Erik adopted from a sex trafficking ring, is possibly the blandest white boy of the month to ever exist. And I love a good white boy of the month. Even the vampire plot line, I could have forgiven. But I draw the line at the big *twist* at the end. For the book, we are led to believe that Erik and Christine reunited, but she died tragically and he’s been preserving her body to put Runes voice back into since part of Christine’s soul lives in her now. But no, it’s not Christine’s body being preserved, but the infant corpse of Erik and Christine’s premature baby girl.
What the fuck?
I had to reread it several times to understand what I had just read. In the end, Rune and Thorn get a happy ending because Erik has a change of heart and decides that the boy he adopted is more important to him than the dead daughter he’s been preserving so he just fucks off to Canada? I don’t even know.
The most interesting part of the book was the throwaway lesbian romance that blossomed between the two mean girls. Wish I read a book about that.
Also, the author insists on using the word “gypsy” throughout to describe the Romani people? The whole thing felt incredibly uncomfortable especially when it continued to be paired with words like “curse” and “blood.”
What the fuck?
I had to reread it several times to understand what I had just read. In the end, Rune and Thorn get a happy ending because Erik has a change of heart and decides that the boy he adopted is more important to him than the dead daughter he’s been preserving so he just fucks off to Canada? I don’t even know.
The most interesting part of the book was the throwaway lesbian romance that blossomed between the two mean girls. Wish I read a book about that.
Also, the author insists on using the word “gypsy” throughout to describe the Romani people? The whole thing felt incredibly uncomfortable especially when it continued to be paired with words like “curse” and “blood.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Grief, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Trafficking
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